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Consumers International - Our strategic development plan

Consumers International has revised its strategy. We have developed this to ensure we remain relevant, impactful and can keep up with the pace of change in a digital, interconnected and fast-moving world.

The main elements are:

We have revised our strategy to ensure we are offering as much value as possible for our members.

Many aspects will be familiar to you: connecting with other members, our project work on consumer protection and our representing and influencing at a global level.

In addition to this, we will work with a broader network of stakeholders to tackle key consumer challenges and opportunities on digital issues. The resulting insights, solutions and actions will benefit our entire membership, and the consumers they support.

We will hold member webinars to give you a chance to hear more about the strategy and to ask questions. We will follow up with dates shortly.

Disturbing security flaws in smartwatches for children

The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) has uncovered significant security flaws, unreliable safety features and a lack of consumer protection in smartwatches for children. This comes as Consumers International releases a report looking at connected devices and the consumer protection implications.

Together with security firm Mnemonic, the NCC tested several smartwatches sold in countries across the world under different brand names. The smartwatches are wearable mobile phones that allow parents to use an app on their smartphones to keep in touch with and track the location of their children.

It found numerous failings:

Serious security flaws: In a few simple steps, a stranger can take control of the watch and track and communicate with the child. They will be able to track the child as it moves or make it look like the child is somewhere it is not. The data is transmitted and stored without encryption.

False sense of security: The SOS functions in the Viksfjord and Gator watches are particularly poor. The alerts that are transmitted when the child leaves a permitted area are also unreliable.

Illegal and non-existent terms and conditions: Some of the apps associated with the watches lack terms and conditions. It’s also not possible to delete your data or user account. These are clear breaches of both the Norwegian Marketing Control Act and the Personal Data Act.

“It's very serious when products that claim to make children safer instead put them at risk because of poor security and features that do not work properly” says Finn Myrstad, Director of Digital Policy at the Norwegian Consumer Council.

“Importers and retailers must know what they stock and sell. These watches have no place on a shop’s shelf, let alone on a child’s wrist.”

Testing our trust: 2017 review of Consumers and the Internet of Things

This is not the first time the issue of a lack of security, safety and consumer protection in connected devises has been raised. Consumers International has released an update and companion piece to its 2016 review of the Internet of Things and the challenges for consumer protection.

Our new report, ‘Testing our trust: consumers and the Internet of Things’ looks at whether trends in connected devices have unfolded as predicted in 2016, whether consumers are experiencing both positive opportunities and detriments from the Internet of Things, and how policy makers, industry and advocates are responding to some of the challenges.

It shows that some of the risks Consumers International identified in 2016, such as bricking devices, excessive data collection and insecure devices are continuing and many companies’ performance on issues such as transparency remains poor.

Effective consumer broadband labels the need of the hour

Medianama, August 10, 2017

Pradeep S. Mehta and T. V. Ramachandran

The year 2016 saw India dethroning USA to become the second largest user of smartphones in the world which gave a big boost to mobile broadband. With increasing competition and upgradation to 4G, prices for mobile broadband services have crashed to an all-time low. With nearly half a billion telecom subscribers consuming over 1.00 gigabyte per month now, this is nothing short of an amazing achievement.

However, on the flip side, when Digital India is the mantra, the pride in this is tarnished by the poor Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE), badly affecting both consumers and the economy. Service providers have to gear up to deal with this in a transparent manner.

Why high profile data breaches are not the only concern for consumers in the digital economy

Organisations in countries all over the world were affected by a major cyberattack last Friday (12 May 2017) and over the weekend when the Wannacry virus struck. Amanda Long, Director General, Consumers International, talks about what the virus means for consumer organisations.

This was different from the high profile security breaches that we are familiar with, like Ashley Madison or Yahoo. In these cases, people’s personal data was targeted in the attack, which can result in serious consequences: credit card fraud, identify theft as well as distress at private information being made public.

The Wannacry attack was different because it didn’t directly target consumers’ personal data, instead it was able to shut down critical parts of companies or organisations’ IT systems and only open them up again once a ransom was paid.
Yet the consequences could be just as serious. According to the BBC, an estimated 47 NHS trusts in England reported problems at hospitals and 13 NHS organisations in Scotland were affected as operations were cancelled, ambulances were diverted from A&E departments and people had problems obtaining medicine prescriptions.

Thankfully this time, the immediate consumer impacts in other countries appear less severe: train ticketing unavailable in parts of Germany or public services in some parts of China. However, our member in Oman reported areas of the internet were shut down as a precautionary measure.

It's a stark reminder of the range of security-related risks that citizens and consumers face in an increasingly connected digital world. Although we may not always be aware of it, digital systems under pin the financial, health, transport and communications systems that millions of consumers rely on.

And while nation states have long been building defence against such attacks on their national infrastructure, the Wannacry case shows how easily this could happen to any commercial service like payments services, ecommerce, or transport. Even those who are not connected to the internet can be affected when ATMs or transport is not available.

The connected nature of the online world brings multiple benefits. But the same interconnections create a major challenge for anyone trying to keep people, countries and assets secure in the digital world.

Preventing similar disruption requires everyone to play their part, consumers to practice good digital security, companies to keep products updated and secure, and organisations to treat cybersecurity as a strategic/board level priority.

And as consumer organisations we have a role in understanding where new threats could come from and what impact they might have - and not only respond to harms after they happen. This requires an understanding of how the digital ecosystem works, and the way threats to consumer welfare change and evolve.

Data breaches have got a lot of attention and a lot of consumer facing policy is in place.

Consumer win on Dual MRP of water

NCDRC issues order to stop dual pricing of mineral water. This means if we see water selling at higher than base mrp anywhere, the mfg and retailer can be booked. Everyone should report and consumer dept action to stop this menace.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, in Revision Petition of 2015 examined the matter of dual pricing in the light of Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and held vide its order dated February 1, 2016 that “there cannot be two MRPs, except in accordance with the law”. NCDRC also directed Director, Legal Metrology, Government of India to take necessary action. The said order was circulated to all the state governments for follow up action under the Legal Metrology Act and Rules, for contravention of legal provisions for Consumer Protection.

The Enforcement of Weights and Measures Laws is done by the State Government and as such, they are expected to take appropriate action, in the matter.